How do you feel?”My sister was in a panic.
“Raven, Raven...stop. I’m fine and Dominick is making sure I eat and that I take good care of myself. Don’t worry about me.”I was adamant.
“Of course,I’m going to worry. You’re my twin. I need to know what I can do to help you.”
“There’s really nothing at this point. Well except......”I was hesitant.
“Except what?”
“Except be there when I tell dad, okay?”
“Sure, Rain. Just let me know when and where.”
“I will. I have to discuss it with Dominick and then I’ll have all of you over for dinner and spring the news on him.”
“Sounds like a plan.”She was excited.
“Hey, how are you? How’s the wedding coming along?”
“Don’t ask. There are obstacles at every turn, Rain.”She said sounding frustrated.
“You could always elope.”I said, messing with her.
“You know that may not be a bad idea?”She didn’t sound confident at all and Raven would never consider eloping unless something was really wrong.
“Raven, c’mon, what’s wrong? This doesn’t sound like just the wedding is an issue. What’s going on?”I was worried now.
“Michael just seems very distant lately. Not at all like himself.”
“Did you talk to him about it? Maybe one of his cases could be an issue.”
“I tried, but he said there was nothing wrong. Plus, if it was about a case, he would definitely discuss it with me.”I could feel the tension she exuded through the phone.
“Do you want me to talk with Tommy? He may know something.”I suggested.
“No, I’ll call Tommy if it gets worse. No need to upset him or get him involved if it really is nothing.”
“You’re sure?”I said. As I made one final effort to help her.
“I’m sure. Oh shit! Michael will be home any minute and I’m not ready yet. Rain, is it okay if I call you tomorrow? Raven said, sounding rushed.
“Call me tomorrow and by then I’ll know when we should have our family dinner.”
“Okay great. Love you, Rain. Happy New Year.”
“Love you more. Happy New Year, Raven. Talk to you tomorrow.”
Our call ended and I began to wonder what was going on with Michael. I had to help my sister, but how?
Twenty minutes or so had passed and the doorbell rang. I went to answer it, but Dominick got there first. He paid the delivery person and brought the pizza to the table. We relaxed and enjoyed a very comfortable and peaceful New Year’s meal alone.
Once finished, we cleaned up together. I put the last plate in the dishwasher and when I turned around, Dominick was staring at me with a grin on his face.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”I said, amused.
“I’m thinking of all things I’m going to do to you tonight.”His voice made my insides tighten.
I walked over to him and placed my arms around his neck.
“So, does a girl get a hint, Mr. Kane?”I said as I teased him.
“I’m going to show you, not tell you, Angel.”He smiled and took my mouth. It was slow and sexy. I wanted this night to never end.
****
CHAPTER EIGHT
NEW YEAR, NEW YORK, NEW HOME
My first New Year’s Eve with Dominick was amazing. He was soft and tender. He seemed peaceful. That’s saying a lot when describing him in that way. He never can relax. It’s his thought process never rests. Whether he was at work or here with me, Dominick was always doing his best to control every moment of any given situation. It may be his nature or it may be his fears. Fears of loss from his past, present and possibly future. I needed to quell those fears where the baby and I were concerned. He wasn’t going to lose us. I was almost positive though that he didn’t believe it. It was my job to make sure he did.
I sat at the center island in the kitchen and had some breakfast. I had already set up the coffee machine for Dominick. He was still fast asleep, but I had woke up earlier with a queasy stomach, so I thought it would be a good time to get mind off it it by putting my photos in order for the show. My photography exhibition was only a little over a month away. I needed to determine what shots would be chosen. Then the photos needed to be sized, framed and priced. In the quiet of this New Year’s morning I had accomplished a great deal.
I made myself another cup of tea and returned to my laptop when my cellphone buzzed. It was Tommy.
“Hey Tommy, Happy New Year! You’re up early.”I said as I greeted my best friend.
“Hey baby, Happy New Year. Kane behaving himself or am I bringing you home today?”He teased.
I grimaced. Even though I knew Tommy was just being a wise-ass, I was tired of everyone assuming Dominick was going to fuck something up. I knew our initial introduction was more than odd, but I loved him and I’m pregnant with his child. If I was able forgive him and move forward, Tommy and my family needed to do the same or at the very least respect my decisions.
“No, you’re not bringing me home today. I’m staying here with Dominick.”My voice was cold and tense.
“Rain, are you okay? You seem angry with me.”Tommy sounded awkward.
“Well, since you asked, I am angry with you. With you and everyone else who seems dead set against my relationship with Dominick.”Now I was angry.
“Rain, I was just..........”
“No! Tommy! You were just nothing. You were hoping it wasn’t working out. That’s what you were doing. You expect things to go wrong, so you can say I told you so. Instead of looking for a way to get me out of my relationship with Dominick, why don’t you just try being happy for me. Just this one time,huh?”I had to admit I was livid and it didn’t take much to piss me off. Maybe it was my hormones, but I think it was mainly because I was tired of everyone expecting the other shoe to drop where Dominick was concerned.
“Rain, cut the shit. It’s me you are talking to. You know as well as I do he has caused more havoc in the short time you’ve been him than you’ve had in your entire life.”Tommy gave as good as he got. He wasn’t going to back down.
I signed deeply and spoke softly.“I know what’s gone on. I was there, but Tommy; I’m tired of fighting. I love him and I want a family with him. I know you’re going to say that I haven’t known him for all that long. I know you’re going to say he’s volatile at times, but you just don’t get it. I’m in love with him and that means it’s time to stop running away. It’s time for me to live my own life and not depend on others to decide it for me.”
“Does that mean you don’t want me to care about you? If that’s the case, baby; I can’t do that. I can’t just turn off my feelings for you. I love you, Rain. You can’t expect me to change just like that.”Tommy was hurt. That’s not what I wanted. I didn’t want to hurt him. I just wanted him to understand.
“I thought we understood each other and put all of this behind us. You said you would help me and that you were okay with my plans. Now you’re telling me you’re not?” I was confused and still angry.
“I do support whatever you do, but I’m worried about you. I’m worried he’ll destroy you, Rain. I won’t let that happen. You’ve been through far too much. I know, I was there. I just don’t want history to repeat itself. I don’t want you confined again.”Tommy’s voice was extremely strained.
“That, I promise you, will never happen again.”I was adamant and Tommy knew I meant what I said.
“Okay, Rain. Promise me one more thing, though. Promise me that if you feel it’s not going good between you two and you can’t deal with Kane, you’ll tell me immediately. Don’t be afraid to come to me. I was there for you then, and although I failed you at the kidnapping, I’m here for you always.”Tommy’s voice warmed me.
“I promise, Tommy. Although I don’t think he would act that way, but still, I would never allow Dominick control my life or our baby’s life. And you didn’t fail me. You always no how crazy I get when it come
s to flying alone and you just thought it was my way of getting you to leave with me for Capri sooner. I know I can always depend on you.”I was fighting back tears now.
“Good, now that we’ve got that settled, have you gone over the photos for the show?”Tommy seemed relieved and ready to move forward. Thank goodness.
“Yeah, I was just going over them now.”
“So what do you plan to do? How do you want to display them?
Just as I was about to answer him, Dominick walked into the room. He looked very sexy. He was wearing sweatpants that hung low on his hips, with no shirt on; which conveniently displayed his rock hard torso. His dark hair was messy from our night of hot sex.
Immediately our eyes locked. Dominick’s signature grin displayed on his face and my body became quickly aroused.
“Rain, Rain, are you still there?”Tommy’s voice startled me back to the moment, but my eyes never left Dominick.
“Yeah, I’m still here.”My voice sounded edgy.
“My guess would be that Kane is there too. Am I right?” He was waiting for an answer from me.
“He just walked in. Tommy, can I call you tomorrow?”I asked
“Sure, Rain. Call me tomorrow and let me know when you’ll be home, so we can get the photos finalized for the show.”
“Oh, I’ll be home on Monday. I have my first appointment with Dr. White then. It’s in the morning, so as soon as I finish I’ll be home to make my final decisions for the show.”
“Ok, baby. I’ll meet up with you then. Oh and Rain, remember what I said. Any problems and you call me immediately.”Tommy was stern.
“I promise. See you Monday.”I was relieved to hang up with him. Tommy was ruining my good mood.
I broke my eye to eye connection with Dominick. I stared at the phone and threw it down on the counter, hard, which made it skid across the island and then finally come to a sudden stop. I let out a deep breath, all while shaking my head at Tommy’s constant negativity. I knew there had been a lot of hurtful situations with Dominick, but there was also a great deal of wonderful. I chose to focus on everything positive, instead of what could possibly go wrong.
Dominick stood still. He tilted his head to one side and appeared to be intensely assessing my mood.
“I take it Conte isn’t too happy that we’re back together.”He was cautious.
I hesitated and stated in a breathy resolved voice:“It doesn’t matter what he thinks. It matters what I think.”
“What do you think, Rain?”He seemed like he was waiting for me to say I didn’t want to be with him anymore. He was bracing himself. How could he think anything bad was going to happen after last night?
I left the stool and approached him. We stood toe to toe. I looked up deep into his eyes and said.“I think it’s been far too long since you’ve been inside of me, Mr. Kane.”
“Too long, huh? Let me fix that.”He immediately picked me up and placed me on the breakfast island. He pushed my legs open and got closer to my body.
He pulled my panties down and let them drop to the floor. Then he rested his hands on my open thighs. His eyes became glazed and his focus was on my pussy. He was hungry. I could see it. He lowered his head to lick my swollen sex. The moment I felt his hot breath and wet tongue on my clit, I arched my back and lower myself to the cool, hard surface. I held on to the sides on the island and Dominick continued to devour me. His tongue glided across my sensitive nub.
I began to writhe and moan from Dominick’s expert assault on my body, as he went between licking me slow and then fast. To my surprise, he pulled away and lifted me off the counter and stalked into his bedroom as he carried me in his arms and placed me carefully down on the bed. He removed his sweats and and lowered his body over mine.
His look was dark, almost erotic. His body was warm and covered my completely. He was my safe haven. Dominick was as much mine, as I was his.
“The long wait is over, Angel. Now,I’m going to fuck you.”His eyes turned black, as he entered my drenched center.
I wrapped my arms and legs around Dominick’s hard body. I tried to get as close to him as possible. I needed him. He knew it and he wrapped his arms around me so tight that I could barely breathe.
Dominick paid close attention to my feelings through the action of my body and my breathing. He totally owned me, when we were in bed. I came alive with every thrust of cock, with every touch of his hand, with every kiss from his lips and every wisp of his breath on skin.
I loved it. I loved the attention and I loved how in sync we were. He felt my response to him and really started to move. I wasn’t going to be able to hang on for much longer and by the sound of Dominick’s breathing, neither would he.
His erection became harder inside of me.
“Rain, I want you to come for me, now.”He said with labored breath.
I did as he commanded. I didn’t have any choice, even if he wanted me to wait, it wasn’t remotely possible. I was falling into a deep orgasm and nothing was going to stop it. I groaned and called out to Dominick. He did the same as his release flooded my body and warmed me deep inside.
Once settled, Dominick pulled me close and nuzzled his face into my neck. He didn’t pull out. We stayed there wrapped in each other’s arms. We were complete. When our bodies relaxed, sleep finally found both of us.
Upon waking up, I realized Dominick’s warm body was no longer wrapped around me. He was sitting up. He was still, regarding me in deep thought. We were fine. We seemed to be in a good place. Maybe I was wrong. Now what? Dominick’s mood swings were going to be the most difficult and the most frustrating part of our relationship. I knew where they stemmed from, it was just hard to imagine, such a powerful man having so many insecurities. I knew I just had to reassure him and hopefully in time, he would believe in me, in us.
He slowly looked at me and said in a whispered tone,“Rain, are you okay with us? Are you happy?”
He looked lost. As strong as Dominick was, there also was that insecure boy inside of him, due to the rejection he received as a child. I knew where this was coming from and I also knew he was a challenge, but I loved him; so I knew there was nothing too hard for us to overcome.
I smiled at him, as I crawled out of the sheets and into his lap. He wrapped his arms around me and held on tight. My lost boy. He didn’t need to be saved. He just needed to be loved. Yeah, he’s not hard to love,he’s easy.
I pulled back slightly, so I could place my hands on the sides of his face and look deeply into his brilliant eyes. Eyes that touched my soul. I kissed his lips gently. We were completely focused on each other.
“What makes you ask me that? Can’t you tell how much I love you, Dominick?”I said, waiting for his response.
Dominick let out a long and relieved sigh. He touched his face to mine. His body stilled and the tension that was there began to slowly melt away.
“I can’t lose you, Rain. I’ve never been anywhere until you. Now I’m somewhere.‘Our Somewhere’.” He remained close, not wanting to lose the connection.
I didn’t move. I didn’t want to lose it either. I kissed his lips again. He kissed me back this time. It was warm and wet and slow. It wasn’t foreplay. It was comfort. It was security. It was us, just us.
“You won’t lose me. What brought this on? Tell me, baby.”I was worried for him.
“Just as I was about to come in the kitchen, I heard you on the phone. You didn’t know I was there and I have to admit I didn’t want to, but I was eavesdropping. Your conversation with Conte was tense to say the least, which is not like you, Rain. I heard you snap at him. I don’t want him or anyone else causing you any distress. You have yourself and the baby to consider.”He stopped.
“So being that you were listening to my conversation with Tommy, then you know that I essentially told him to back off. Dominick, listen to me and really hear me; I love you and no one is going to ruin our relationship or stand in our way. Well, except for me and you.”
“What�
�s that supposed to mean?”There’s that temper starting to simmer again.
“It means that you are your own worst enemy and I can be very stubborn and at times just as hot-tempered as you. Remember in Capri? I left you to rot in jail. I walked away pissed off, climbed on a plane to try to put as much distance between us as I possibly could. Then once I was home and had time to think about it, I was second guessing my actions. Yet, I still wouldn’t call you. Do see how much time we wasted? Time that we could have been together. Those are the things that have to stop. What Tommy thinks and what my family thinks are far less important than the actions we take. Whether we are together or not, their life goes on; same as usual. If we keep hurting each other, we have no one to blame but ourselves.”I hoped he understood.
Identity: …………..People aren’t always who you believe them to be (Miss Taken Identity Series Book 2) Page 10